After falsely claiming that 3-5 million people voted illegally for his opponent in the 2016 election, President Trump announced his intention in late January to set up a commission to investigate voter fraud, a decision he formalized with an executive order in May. On Feb. 22, a Heritage Foundation employee wrote an email to Attorney General Jeff Sessions saying he'd heard the "disturbing" news that the commission's chairman, Vice President Mike Pence, planned to make the panel bipartisan and urged that only like-minded conservatives be appointed, according to a copy of the email obtained by the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center (CLC) through a freedom-of-information request.

The Justice Department redacted the name of the Heritage Foundation's self-proclaimed vote-fraud expert, but the conservative think tank effectively confirmed to Gizmodo that the author was Hans von Spakovsky, who was later appointed to the commission and is identified by the CLC as "widely considered the architect of the voter fraud myth." At the commission's second public meeting on Tuesday, before Heritage confirmed that Spakovsky wrote the email, Pro Publica's Jessica Huseman asked him "point blank" if he'd "authored this document, he said no." She posted audio of the exchange.

In the email, the Heritage Foundation employee presumed to be Spakovsky argued to Sessions that "there isn't a single Democratic official that will do anything other than obstruct any investigation of voter fraud" and claim that the commission "is engaged in voter suppression," and that "mainstream Republican officials and/or academics" would also make the commission "an abject failure." The author also complained that none of the "real experts on the conservative side" had been appointed "other than Kris Kobach," the committee's vice chairman, Kansas secretary of state, and Breitbart News columnist.

Pence and Kobach eventually appointed seven Republicans and five Democrats to the commission, though one Democrat resigned. But the CLC said that the email adds "to the mounting evidence that the commission has no interest in true bipartisanship or an open discussion of how to solve the real problems in our elections." CLC president Trevor Potter, a former GOP chairman of the Federal Election Commission, said that Kobach's "farcical meetings" continue "to validate the worst suspicions about the commission: that it is designed to shrink the electorate for partisan advantage." He suggested they focus on "a true issue of election integrity" like Russians buying political ads on Facebook.

UPDATE: Spakovsky said in a statement that the email was sent to "private individuals who were not in the administration" and "was unaware that it had been forwarded" to Sessions. He added that he now believes the commission is "committed to uncovering the truth about election integrity and the other issues present in our election system." Peter Weber

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck stunned the NFL on Saturday evening when he abruptly announced his retirement from football at the age of 29.

The oft-injured Luck said the decision was the hardest in his life. "I've been stuck in this process," he said, referring to his fairly constant string of injuries over the last four years. "I haven't been able to live the life I want to live. It's taken the joy out of this game." Luck added that "the only way to move forward" was to leave football.

Colts fans caught wind of Luck's forthcoming announcement during the 4th quarter of the team's third preseason game against the Chicago Bears on Saturday, and several of them booed the quarterback — who was inactive due to an injured ankle — as he walked off the field. The negative reaction was likely a result of the shocking nature of Luck's announcement, as Colts fans have always held their signal caller in high regard. Regardless, Luck's fellow current and former players mostly backed him up, even if they were just as surprised as everyone else.

When Luck was healthy he was one of the game's elite passers, and the Colts were widely considered title contenders going into the season. That certainly seems to be in jeopardy now.

As for Luck, he reportedly plans to travel the world. Tim O'Donnell

That's a first.

President Trump changed course slightly about the United States' trade war with China on Sunday while attending the Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France.

Trump, just days after hiking tariffs on Chinese imports and ordering (via Twitter) U.S. businesses to begin cutting ties with China, said he does indeed have second thoughts about how the trade war has played out. "Might as well," he said. "Might as well. I have second thoughts about everything." He also said he has no plans to invoke a 1977 law that would grant him more authority to intervene with U.S. business practices in China.

Still, Trump said he believed the other leaders at the summit "respect the trade war," adding that "it has to happen," signaling that he has no intention of reversing the tariffs despite his recent comments.

As for his fellow G-7 leaders respecting Washington's trade policy? That doesn't seem to be the case, at least not entirely. Almost immediately after Trump said so far no foreign leader had challenged him on trade, U.K. Prime Minister did just that. "Just to register the faint, sheep-like note of our view on the trade war, we're in favor of trade peace on the whole," Johnson said. "We think that on the whole the U.K. has profited massively in the last 200 years from free trade." Read more about the G-7 summit at The Washington Post. Tim O'Donnell

The Group of Seven Summit in Biarritz, France, hasn't officially started yet, but French President Emmanuel Macron got the ball rolling when he "ambushed" President Trump on Saturday.

Macron reportedly surprised Trump at his hotel, and the two had lunch, where they reportedly discussed several crises around the world, including in Libya, Iran, and Russia, as well as climate change and trade policy — Trump had earlier repeated threats to place tariffs on French wine imports to the U.S. in retaliation for France's digital services tax.

Trump seemed pleased with the meeting, though. In brief remarks, he said that he and Macron "actually have a lot in common" and "have been friends a long time." He added that "everybody's getting along" and that he expects to "accomplish a lot this weekend."

His administration, on the other hand, doesn't have such a rosy outlook. A senior administration official told Politico that by trying to bring issues such as climate change and gender equality to the forefront of the meetings that are meant to focus on global economics, security, and trade, Macron and France are "trying to fracture the G-7."

It looks like the summit might be as difficult as predicted. Tim O'Donnell

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley dismissed rumors that she was being considered as a replacement for Vice President Mike Pence on President Trump's 2020 ticket, calling Pence a "dear friend" who has her "complete support." It's reportedly true that Pence and Haley are friends — multiple sources told Politico that the two have long had a "warm" relationship — but the rumored rivalry between their two camps is real, Politico reports.

The recent divisions between the two prominent Republicans, both of whom are being touted as potential future GOP presidential candidates, were seemingly fueled in part by rumors that Haley would be a possible replacement, only to be exacerbated by the fact that she took so long to address them. Some of Pence's top aides reportedly think that Haley or an ally were actually behind a June Wall Street Journal op-ed urging Trump to make the change.

The White House brushed off those suggestions publicly, and Pence has received support from the administration and Trump himself, who apparently privately told Pence that he was irritated by the article.

While it's unlikely there's any weight behind the vice presidential rumors, Pence's team is still convinced that Haley is already laying the groundwork for a future presidential bid, in which the vice president could become a direct competitor. Perhaps a showdown awaits. Read more at Politico. Tim O'Donnell

Sometimes you just need to talk things out. Especially when it comes to Greenland.

President Trump on Friday evening said that he had a "great conversation" with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, whom he described as a "wonderful woman" before leaving the White House to head to the Group of Seven summit in France.

"We have a great relationship with Denmark, and we agreed to speak later," Trump said. "But she was very nice. She put a call in, and I appreciated it very much."

Trump's laudatory remarks come after he scrapped plans on Monday to visit Denmark in September because Frederiksen nixed the idea that Denmark would sell Greenland to the United States, a deal in which Trump has expressed interest. Trump called Frederiksen's response "nasty" — which seems to be one of his favorite pejoratives. Trump said he would not have reacted so strongly if she declined politely, but it appears he was rankled by the fact that Frederiksen said the idea that Greenland is for sale is "absurd."

It looks like they've patched things up for now, although it was unclear if Trump will reconsider visiting Denmark this fall. Either way, it doesn't appear the Trump administration is backing down from its interest in Greenland, as The Associated Press reports there are plans to open a U.S. consulate in the island's capital, Nuuk. Tim O'Donnell

North Korea reportedly fired two more suspected short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Saturday, the country's seventh weapons launch in a month, following what had been a 17-month hiatus on testing.

North Korea has expressed anger at joint U.S.-South Korea military training exercises, describing them as a "rehearsal for war." The earlier weapons tests were considered retaliation for the training exercises, but the launches were expected to stop following the conclusion of the drills, which occurred earlier this week.

South Korea said the tests cause "grave concern," while Japan said they were a clear violation of United Nations resolutions. The missiles did not land in Japanese territorial waters and did not cause any damage, Japanese officials said. Meanwhile, President Trump took a more relaxed approach, keeping in line with his past reactions to North Korea's tests. He said on Friday evening that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been "pretty straight with me" and that "we never restricted short-range missiles."

The Associated Press reports that many analysts consider the tests to be an attempt by North Korea to apply more pressure on the United States ahead of a possible resuscitation of denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington. Tim O'Donnell